No wristband. No beer. Period.

Thursday
I've been reading a fair bit about this Vincent Gallo film called 'The Brown Bunny' which caused a bit of a stir when it opened, so being a bit of a fan of Mr Gallo's work I headed down to Avenue 1 and the Sunshine Cinema. Rather a seedy little place, I became a little troubled when I saw the sign saying 'Over 21's Only' and realised the only other people in the cinema were single men 'of a certain age'. Not one to pass up on an experience, I gamely found a secluded seat and watched the film, described by Time Out New York as "...very, very, very bad." The story follows a motorcycle racer who drives from New Hampshire to Los Angeles with a blow-by-blow (literally!) account of the journey. "Monotony reigns supreme here; won't something - anything! - please happen?" - I disagree - I thought it was a blinding pieces of film-making - edgy, stripped-down and honest. Not for the narrow-minded though.

Afterwards I hopped on an uptown subway and travelled to 42nd Street and the library for some more furious jotting business.

We walked down to Irving Plaza in the evening for the sellout gig - The Thrills supported by the Zutons. Another supercool venue - although having to prove you are over 21 years of age in order to get a wristband stating 'Over 21' before you can buy a can of lager from the bar was a little crazy. We took up our positions in front of the stage and enjoyed a blinding performance by The Zutons (it's true, the saxophone player does dance like a monkey) followed by a lovely set by The Thrills. Tremendous entertainment - and all within 15 minutes walk of the apartment and a fridgeful of beer. Mustn't grumble.